For international students
Your path to U.S. university starts with clarity.
Understand the U.S. admissions process, what to prepare, and how to plan your next steps from abroad.
Your academic context
A clear application plan
Your family, involved
- Understand the system
- Prepare with confidence
- Plan from abroad
A new admissions landscape
U.S. undergraduate admissions at a glance.
A different system. A clearer starting point.
Select a topic to explore the landscape.
Academic-context differences
Your academic record,
in context.
Different grading scales and curricula tell different stories. The aim is to make yours clear.
Grading scales
Marks, percentages, and grading scales need the context of your school’s system.
Curriculum & coursework
Your subjects and course choices help explain what you studied and the opportunities available to you.
School & country context
Strong performance in your own system can be understood without forcing it into a simple GPA comparison.
Check each university’s requirements.
Transcript formats, translations, and any required evaluations vary. Verify what each university expects, school by school.
Documents & testing checks
Documents & testing:
what to confirm.
Build your checklist from each university’s own admissions page, for your application year.
Transcripts & translations
Confirm accepted records, submission methods, and whether an official or certified translation is needed.
School reports & counselor forms
Confirm which forms your school submits, how they are sent, and whether a school profile should explain your curriculum and grading.
English proficiency
Check whether a test is required, which tests are accepted, any minimum scores, and whether a waiver may apply.
Standardized testing
Confirm whether SAT or ACT scores are required, optional, or not considered, and how official scores should be sent.
Requirements vary. Start with each university’s official admissions page.
If required, certified translations and credential evaluations must be arranged separately. Professor’s Desk does not provide these services.
Planning from abroad
Different calendars. One clear plan.
Your school year may follow a different rhythm. Planning around each U.S. university’s deadlines helps make room for it.
Two school calendars
Application deadlines may overlap with local exams or school breaks. Identify those pressure points early.
More time for school documents
Allow time for recommendations and transcripts to be prepared and submitted by your overseas school.
Work backward from each deadline
Use each university’s deadline to plan school requests, preparation, and your own review time.
The calendars may differ. Your plan can account for both.
Make space for busy school periods and the time others need, so fewer tasks arrive at once.
Parent coordination
Across time zones.
Together in the process.
Online guidance for families worldwide, with room for your time zone and your student’s independence.
Calls that fit your family
Coordinate meeting times around your family’s time zone and availability.
Parents informed. Students lead.
Parents stay informed about plans and progress while the student does the application work.
Online, wherever you are
Meetings and guidance are delivered online, so distance does not require travel.
Distance is part of the plan.
A shared understanding of timing, communication, and roles helps everyone stay connected.
Let’s Build your strategy
Their next chapter starts
with a conversation.
Tell Cristina about your student’s goals and where you are in the admissions process.
Personal U.S. college admissions guidance for international students and families, led by Cristina Arias.
Consultations are held online, worldwide.
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